East Carolina's Skip Holtz isn't too encouraged by No. 24 North Carolina's knack for slow starts because his team has had even more trouble finishing. The Pirates (1-1) have played two games and in both have wasted quick starts with stumbling finishes.
Outscored by a combined 31-2 after halftime against Appalachian State and West Virginia, questions have popped up about everything from the execution of the offense to what's being said in the locker room at halftime.
"We're not clicking," Holtz said. "Right now, there's a little something missing, whatever that ingredient is. The first half of both games, I felt pretty pleased with how we played as an offense.... Talked (Sunday) as a staff about evaluating what we're doing at halftime. We're not doing anything different than we've done in the last four years. But for some reason, we just haven't been able to jell."
A sweat-it-out victory over Appalachian and a loss at West Virginia weren't what many expected from a veteran team that generated plenty of bust-the-BCS buzz last season with high-profile upsets of West Virginia and Virginia Tech. But so far, the Pirates have failed to put two halves together.
ECU led Appalachian 29-7 at halftime then held on for a 29-24 win with a critical stop on defense. In last week's 35-20 loss at West Virginia, the defense allowed two touchdown passes of at least 45 yards and three 80-yard scoring drives.
"This is a team game, and you can have nine guys who are playing their tails off and two guys that make mistakes, and you don't look very good" on defense, Holtz said. "Ten guys look like they're not playing very well when really 10 guys are doing exactly what they're supposed to do. And it's the same on offense.... We've got to keep practicing, we've got to keep getting better. I don't know any other way to do it, other than (to) keep our nose to the grindstone and stay persistent with what we have to get done."
The Tar Heels pose an interesting challenge for the Pirates. With quarterback T.J. Yates passing to a group of unproven receivers, UNC has struggled to find consistency and was shut out in the first quarter by The Citadel and Connecticut.
"I think there's two good defensive football teams playing -- two offensive football teams right now, probably, both are struggling a little bit," Holtz said. "Probably neither one of our passing games are where we want them to be.... I don't think this game is going to be 42-41."
The player considered the cornerstone of the team -- Pinkney -- instead has been part of the problem. He has completed 42 percent of his passes with more interceptions (three) than touchdowns (two).
"I don't think this is all Patrick," Holtz said. "Patrick's going to take a lot of the brunt of when your offense is not doing well, and he'll take a lot of the credit when it is.... It is something that we have considered, and something that we've talked about, what we have to do after two games to make sure we're getting the play at not only quarterback but tight end, tackle and some of the other positions…."
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